Sen. Graham: Women In The Military ‘Putting Up With Way Too Much Crap’

US Senator John McCain(R) (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham(C) (R-SC), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) during a press conference November 14, 2012 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC regarding the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. As speculation builds over President Barack Obama's choice for a Secretary of State to replace Hillary Clinton, some top Senate Republicans are threatening to block top candidate Susan Rice from the post, claiming her statements about the violence in Benghazi, Libya disqualify her from getting a "promotion." Graham, argued that Rice, currently the US Ambassador to the UN, misled the American people when addressing the September 11 attacks in Libya, which resulted in the death of four Americans. "Somebody has got to start paying a price around this place," said Graham. "I don't think she deserves to be promoted. There are a lot of qualified people in this country the president could pick, but I am dead-set on making sure we don't promote anybody that was an essential player in the Benghazi debacle." AFP PHOTO / Karen BLEIER (Photo credit should read KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee says that military commanders who allow sexual assault to flourish should be fired. (KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee says that military commanders who allow sexual assault to flourish should be fired.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says that women who serve in the military are needed and, quote: “putting up with way too much crap.”

Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said victims need to know they’re protected and have their day in a court they can trust.

A Pentagon study found that 26,000 members of the armed forces faced sexual assault last year, but only a few thousand cases were reported.

President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel addressed the issue separately in graduation speeches at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.